Woman charged in rat poisoning case not indicted over husband's death

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) Prosecutors said Thursday a Taiwanese woman will not be indicted over the death of her British husband due to insufficient evidence of foul play, but they are seeking a sentence of no less than eight years in a separate case for the attempted murder of an Australian student with rat poison.

The woman, surnamed Yang (楊), was married to the British national, who fell ill in December 2022 with what doctors later diagnosed as a urinary tract infection, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office said. He died the following month.

Prosecutors said they reviewed the man's medical records, autopsy report and questioned doctors, but found no way to determine whether he had ingested rat poison or another toxin.

The husband moved to Taiwan with Yang several years earlier and did not keep in touch with his family in the U.K. His death only came under scrutiny after his younger brother came to Taiwan in January 2024 seeking information about him.

Using information provided by the man's brother, police discovered that he had been married to Yang, but died just before Alex Shorey, an Australian exchange student in Taiwan, was poisoned.

Police later informed prosecutors, who investigated a possible connection between the two cases.

Seeking emotional comfort, Yang met Shorey the same month her husband died and quickly grew fond of him, prosecutors said.

After completing his Chinese courses in March, the Australian student was set to return home. Prosecutors said Yang spiked his food and drink with rat poison to keep him in Taiwan, leaving him in intensive care. Doctors later identified the poison as the rodenticide "superwarfarin."

Shorey was ultimately evacuated back to Australia in May that year, while Yang was later referred to Taipei prosecutors and charged with attempted murder in December 2024.

On Thursday, Taipei prosecutors said Yang was not indicted over her husband's death due to insufficient evidence, but are asking that she receives no less than eight years in prison for the case involving Shorey, which is currently being reviewed by the Taipei District Court.